When I see ECM as the label, I immediately think of Jazz. But that's not the case here. The Hilliard Ensemble is a 4-man choral group from Great Britain. That's essentially Classical music with religious overtones to we laymen. Lots of singing in Latin. The group was formed in 1974 and named after Elizabethan artist Nicholas Hilliard, who specialized in miniatures. Their membership was a bit of a revolving door in the early days, but they've been pretty stable since 1990 and there have been no changes since 1998.

What separates The Hilliard Ensemble from other choral groups is that they haven't been afraid to try new things. While most of their work is made up of Medieval and Renaissance music, they've also worked with new contemporary composers. And they are probably most noteworthy for their collaborations with Norwegian sax man Jan Garbarek. Timing being everything, ECM,The Hilliard Ensemble, and Garbarek all scored in 1994 with"Officium"--the first part of a trilogy and an album that found a willing audience at the very peak of the interest in Gregorian chant music.

The group will be retiring, for once and all, with a concert in London on December 20, so its fitting that they should close out their recording career with a Christmas album. But I wouldn't expect an appearance from Garbarek on "Transeamus" (I think he'd be mentioned on the cover).

The album takes its title, "Transeamus", from a traditional Latin Christmas song, "Transeamus usque Bethlehem" (Let us go to Bethlehem), a song as popular in the Netherlands as it is in the Roman Catholic church, for some reason. It is arranged for a four-part choir and usually accompanied by an organ. I can't speak to the full program, though I know "There Is No Rose" is usually part of it.

Anyway, this is entirely out of my depth. But, for those who like this sort of thing, I'm guessing this will be the sort of thing they like.

PREviews

I don't know about you, but I want to see that cover art and I want to see that track list before I make my Christmas music purchasing decisions. The earlier the better. That's what we try to do for you here. We'll also try to give you a little background on the artist(s), in case they're new to you.